Perceptual Cognitive Processes Research Articles

O-52 - Influences of social hierarchy on a visual discrimination task. “I am a better competitor if you are a good competitor”

Previous research shows that social aspects can affect high level neural processing. Until now it was unclear if social aspects such as hierarchical rank could influence sensory/ perceptual cognitive processes in primary areas. We evaluated the effects of social comparisons with members of a hierarchy using a basic visual task, which is a priori unaffected by social aspects. Initially, in a computerized game we constructed a strong social hierarchy based on the skills on a visual (Numerosity) task, participants performed the task comparing their results with two covertly simulated players, one superior and the other one inferior. Participants were significantly better and faster when they performed the task simultaneously with the high status player. In a follow up experimental procedure we analyzed the time course of the event related potential response. Two time windows were studied, analyzing early perceptual/sensory processes (

Petri Nets and Discrete Events Systems

This paper provides an overview over the relationship between Petri Nets and Discrete Event Systems as they have been proved as key factors in the cognitive processes of perception and memorization. In this sense, different aspects of encoding Petri Nets as Discrete Dynamical Systems that try to advance not only in the problem of reachability but also in the one of describing the periodicity of markings and their similarity, are revised. It is also provided a metric for the case of Non-bounded Petri Nets.

The effect of manipulating context-specific information on perceptual-cognitive processes during a simulated anticipation task

We manipulated contextual information in order to examine the perceptual-cognitive processes that support anticipation using a simulated cricket-batting task. Skilled (N= 10) and less skilled (N= 10) cricket batters responded to video simulations of opponents bowling a cricket ball under high and low contextual information conditions. Skilled batters were more accurate, demonstrated more effective search behaviours, and provided more detailed verbal reports of thinking. Moreover, when they viewed their opponent multiple times (high context), they reduced their mean fixation time. All batters improved performance and altered thought processes when in the high context, compared to when they responded to their opponent without previously seeing them bowl (low context). Findings illustrate how context influences performance and the search for relevant information when engaging in a dynamic, time-constrained task.

Psychology of auditory perception.

Audition is often treated as a 'secondary' sensory system behind vision in the study of cognitive science. In this review, we focus on three seemingly simple perceptual tasks to demonstrate the complexity of perceptual-cognitive processing involved in everyday audition. After providing a short overview of the characteristics of sound and their neural encoding, we present a description of the perceptual task of segregating multiple sound events that are mixed together in the signal reaching the ears. Then, we discuss the ability to localize the sound source in the environment. Finally, we provide some data and theory on how listeners categorize complex sounds, such as speech. In particular, we present research on how listeners weigh multiple acoustic cues in making a categorization decision. One conclusion of this review is that it is time for auditory cognitive science to be developed to match what has been done in vision in order for us to better understand how humans communicate with speech and music. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 479-489 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.123 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

The Role of Social Relationships in Predicting Loneliness: The National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project

The authors explore associations between objective and subjective social network characteristics and loneliness in later life, using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a nationally representative sample of individuals ages 57 to 85 in the United States. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the associations between measures of objective and subjective social network characteristics and their importance in predicting loneliness across marital status. For the entire sample, as well as the married-cohabitating subsample, objective indicators such as frequency of contact with social network members were negatively associated with feelings of loneliness, net of background characteristics. However, the authors' analysis highlights the contribution of subjective perceptions of social ties, the quality of marriage in later life for those engaged in marital or cohabitating relationships, and the quality of familial ties for the nonmarried older adults. In a married-cohabitating subsample, the subjective perceptions of one's relationship with the partner explained, by itself, 7% of the variance in loneliness, whereas the quality of family ties explained an additional 6% of the variance in loneliness in the nonmarried sample. Based on the present findings, practical implications for social workers are discussed. KEY WORDS: later life; loneliness; social networks; subjective perceptions ********** In research, multiple definitions of loneliness have been proposed. Yet almost uniformly, a distinction has been made between loneliness and aloneness (Andersson, 1998). Loneliness is approached as a discrete, subjective construct associated with the objective social situation but not synonymous with the actual circumstances. Thus, people can feel lonely in the company of many others or be alone without feeling lonely. It also has been agreed that loneliness is a painful or unpleasant experience (Peplau & Perlman, 1982). Cognitive theory, which is a major theoretical approach guiding loneliness research, focuses on one's perception and evaluation of social ties. Loneliness, according to this theoretical point of view, results from the perceived discrepancy between desired and actual social relationships or the subjective gap between one's optimal levels of social relationships and achieved levels of same. A perceived deficit in one's social interactions is crucial in creating a sense of loneliness. Past experience and experience of other people in the social environment shape this evaluation process. Contrary to other important theoretical views of loneliness, such as the social needs approach (represented by Weiss, 1973, 1987), cognitive theory suggests an indirect relation between objective deficits in one's social network and feelings of loneliness. Cognitive processes of perception and evaluation serve as mediators (de Jong Gierveld, 1998; Peplau & Perlman, 1982). In recent years, interest in aging and loneliness has grown for two primary reasons. First, loneliness is a socially prevalent phenomenon among elderly people. For example, in a representative sample of British community-dwelling older people, almost 40% experienced loneliness to some degree (Victor, Scambler, Bowling, & Bond, 2005). Similar prevalence rates were recently found in Finland among a random sample of people age 75 and over (Savikko, Routasalo, Tilvis, Strandberg, & Pitkala, 2005). In the United States, Theeke (2007) reported that approximately 17% of people age 50 and above reported loneliness. Second, loneliness can have deleterious effects in multiple domains of elders' lives, including both physical and mental health. In the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study, loneliness was associated with elevated systolic blood pressure, even after controlling for demographics, health behaviors, and various psychosocial factors. Moreover, loneliness was a unique predictor of age-related increases in systolic blood pressure (Hawkley, Masi, Berry, & Cacioppo, 2006). …

Reassuring the medical students’ disease – Health related anxiety among medical students

Background: Studying a specific illness could lead medical students to an incorrect interpretation of certain physical symptoms, so that symptoms which were previously considered normal are now regarded as a true sign of an illness.Aim: To examine the appraisal of self-health state, the existing fear of morbidity and the level of health-related anxiety among medical students throughout medical school.Methods: Anonymous questionnaires were distributed to first through sixth year medical students at the Tel-Aviv University Medical School. The questionnaires were distributed to all the students who were present on the study days.Results: We observed a significant rise in the emotional–distress process with entering the clinical years followed by a significant decrease later on. Similar pattern was seen in health anxiety and in preoccupation with and fear of illness and death. While the perceptual–cognitive process increased gradually, there was no change in interference with life scores.Conclusion: “Medical student's disease” should be regarded as a phenomenon depending on the years of learning. By breaking it down into its components, one can better characterize it and predict its onset. By defining it as a normal process, one can assist in guiding medical students to reduce their level of anxiety and distress.

Feeling Lightheaded: The Role of Cerebral Blood Flow

The main aims of this study were a) to investigate the relationship between lightheadedness and cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv) during hyperventilation-induced hypocapnia, and b) to investigate whether and why the relationship between lightheadedness and CBFv may change after several episodes of this sensation. Three hypocapnic and three normocapnic overbreathing trials were administered in a semirandomized order to healthy participants (N = 33). Each type of breathing trial was consistently paired with one odor. Afterward, participants were presented each odor once in two spontaneous breathing and in two normocapnic overbreathing trials. CBFv in the right middle cerebral artery was measured by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD). Also breathing behavior and self-reported lightheadedness were measured continuously. Each trial was followed by a symptom checklist. Self-reported lightheadedness was closely related to changes in CBFv in the hypocapnic overbreathing trials. During the subsequent normocapnic trials, however, participants experienced more lightheadedness and "feeling unreal" to the odor that had previously been paired with hyperventilation-induced hypocapnia. These complaints were not accompanied by changes in end-tidal CO(2) nor in CBFv. The results show that lightheadedness is associated with changes in CBFv but that after a few episodes, the underlying mechanism for this symptom may shift to perceptual-cognitive processes. These findings may help to understand why lightheadedness occurs during emotional distress and panic. In addition, altered cerebral blood flow is unlikely to play a primary precipitating role in recurrent symptoms of lightheadedness.

Ethnicity effects in relative pitch

Absolute pitch (AP), the rare ability to identify a musical pitch, occurs at a higher rate among East Asian musicians. This has stimulated considerable research on the comparative contributions of genetic and environmental factors. Two studies examined whether a similar ethnicity effect is found for relative pitch (RP), identifying the distance or interval between two tones. Nonmusicians (n = 103) were trained to label musical intervals and were subsequently tested on interval identification. We establish similar ethnicity effects: Chinese and Korean participants consistently outperformed other participants in RP tasks, but not in a "relative rhythm" control task. This effect is not driven by previous musical or tone-language experience. The parallel with the East Asian advantage for AP suggests that enhanced perceptual-cognitive processing of pitch is more general and is not limited to highly trained musicians. This effect opens up many research questions concerning the environmental and genetic contributions related to this more general pitch-based ability.

Contextual fear conditioning differs for infant, adolescent, and adult rats.

Contextual fear conditioning was tested in infant, adolescent, and adult rats in terms of Pavlovian-conditioned suppression. When a discrete auditory-conditioned stimulus (CS) was paired with footshock (unconditioned stimulus, US) within the largely olfactory context, infants and adolescents conditioned to the context with substantial effectiveness, but adult rats did not. When unpaired presentations of the CS and US occurred within the context, contextual fear conditioning was strong for adults, weak for infants, but about as strong for adolescents as when pairings of CS and US occurred in the context. Nonreinforced presentations of either the CS or context markedly reduced contextual fear conditioning in infants, but, in adolescents, CS extinction had no effect on contextual fear conditioning, although context extinction significantly reduced it. Neither CS extinction nor context extinction affected responding to the CS-context compound in infants, suggesting striking discrimination between the compound and its components. Female adolescents showed the same lack of effect of component extinction on response to the compound as infants, but CS extinction reduced responding to the compound in adolescent males, a sex difference seen also in adults. Theoretical implications are discussed for the development of perceptual-cognitive processing and hippocampus role.

Intermodal matching of vision and audition in infancy: A proposal for a new taxonomy

The aim of this review paper is first to devise a common framework for the various procedures used in experimental investigations of intermodal auditory – visual matching by human infants, and second to propose a new taxonomy of intermodal tasks in order to gain a better understanding of the perceptual-cognitive processing underlying these tasks and their relationships to other cognitive achievements such as the development of language. Based on an examination of the tasks used in the developmental literature, we suggest analysing them in terms of (a) their mode of presentation (simultaneous or sequential) for accessing the information in the two modalities (auditory and visual) and (b) the type of relation (amodal or arbitrary) between these two stimulus sources. A review of the literature in the light of this classification shows that most experimental studies employ parallel intermodal presentation (PIP) using both amodal and arbitrary relations between stimuli. Very few investigations have used sequential intermodal presentation (SIP) with amodal relations, and none have used SIP procedures with arbitrary relations. It is claimed here that this last approach might be the most appropriate one for furthering our understanding of (a) the categorical and semantic processing involved in intermodal matching and (b) how the developing infant learns to process words.

Visual interest in pictorial art during an aesthetic experience

Two experiments were performed during which adults untrained in the visual arts were shown digital versions of eight paintings by renowned artists. In Experiment 1 participants' written reactions following a single 100 ms glance at each work were found to overwhelmingly reflect an initial holistic impression (i.e. gist) of the structural arrangement and semantic meaning of the paintings. In the second experiment participants' eye movements and verbal reactions were recorded as they evaluated each reproduction for pleasingness. Analyses reveal the relationships between the content and structural organization of the art stimuli and the way viewers select, process and think about information contained in paintings across the time course of an aesthetic experience. The results are interpreted in terms of an information-processing stage model of visual aesthetics according to which perceptual-cognitive processing of an art stimulus begins with the rapid generation of a gist reaction followed by scrutiny of pictorial features directed in a top-down fashion by cognitively-based evaluative processes.

Repeated experiences of air hunger and ventilatory behavior in response to hypercapnia in the standardized rebreathing test: Effects of anxiety

In this study, we assessed air hunger (AH) and ventilatory responses to repeated CO 2 exposures in healthy women ( N = 31), scoring high or low for trait anxiety. A standardized rebreathing test, implying a gradually increasing CO 2 stimulus, was administered three times with 15-min intervals. Respiratory behavior and the intensity of AH perception were measured continuously. Across repeated exposures, maximal tolerance for AH habituated and the slope of AH (increase in AH per unit increase in CO 2) diminished. Also the dynamics of the breathing response changed across trials. The thresholds for AH and tidal volume ( V T) moved closer to each other, whereas the threshold for the respiratory rate (RR) was generally postponed. In addition, the association between AH and V T was stronger than between AH and RR, and the latter association became weaker over trials, particularly in high anxious persons. This suggests that AH perception became increasingly influenced by psychological factors, especially in high anxious persons. The results suggest that habituation of perceived air hunger is depending on a complex interplay between both changes in respiratory behavior and in perceptual-cognitive processes related to trait anxiety.

Investigating naturalistic decision making in a simulated microworld: What questions should we ask?

Computer-simulated microworlds can provide a controlled method for investigating concepts related to naturalistic decision making (NDM). However, the extent to which these tools can be used to generate meaningful outcomes is unknown. The current study used a microworld called Networked Fire Chief (NFC) to explore the range of skills and knowledge acquired as participants gained practice on the program. The complexity of the NFC NDM environment was also explored. Twenty participants each completed 20 equivalent 5-min scenarios on NFC. Interview data, behavioral data and performance scores were collected across the trials. Results confirmed that NFC provides an environment that promotes appropriate perceptual-cognitive processing for NDM. However, performance improved to only a small extent across the 20 trials in four performance areas: speed, accuracy, efficiency and planning. In addition, the number of personal and situational factors to be considered when decision making on NFC was not comparable with real-world NDM environments. Overall, results indicated that the use of microworlds for research should be regulated by an understanding of the limitations of their applicability.

What Motivates Individuals to Protect Themselves from Risks: The Case of Wildland Fires

This research investigates the cognitive perceptual process that homeowners go through when faced with the decision to protect themselves from the risk of wildfires. This decision can be examined by looking at the interaction between the integrated protection motivation theory-transtheoretical model and different levels of homeowners' subjective knowledge related to wildfire risks. We investigated the role of motivation, decision stages of risk readiness, and subjective knowledge on the number of risk-mitigating actions undertaken by homeowners living in high-risk communities. The results indicate that homeowners who are in an early or precontemplative stage (both low and high subjective knowledge) as well as low knowledge contemplatives are motivated by their perceived degree of vulnerability to mitigate the risk. In contrast, high knowledge contemplatives' potential behavioral changes are more likely to be motivated by increasing their perceptions of the severity of the risk. Risk-mitigating behaviors undertaken by high knowledge action homeowners are influenced by their perceptions of risk severity, self-efficacy, and response efficacy. In contrast, the low knowledge action homeowners engage in risk reduction behaviors without the influence of any of the PMT variables; demonstrating their motivation to emulate others in their community. These results have implications for the type of information that should be used to effectively communicate risks in an effort to influence the diverse homeowner segments to engage in risk-reduction behaviors.

Attentional focus influences the walk–run transition in human locomotion

This study tested the hypothesis that cognitive perceptual processes are involved in determining the walk–run transition in human locomotion. In a dual-task paradigm, 12 healthy male participants (aged 21.8±2.4 years) walked and ran on a treadmill while solving mental arithmetic (MA) organized in two levels of difficulty (easy and hard). Speed was increased over seven increments of 0.1 ms −1 while the walk–run transition speed (TS) and central and peripheral ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded. MA performance was maintained between control (no locomotion) and treadmill conditions and participants rated hard MA as more difficult and more mentally engaging than easy MA. The TS increased during both levels of MA, although RPE values did not reflect psychological attenuation across the transition. Together, these results support the hypothesis that cognitive load distracts attentional focus from physiological cues that contribute to triggering human gait transitions.

The cerebellum: it's about time! But timing is not everything--new insights into the role of the cerebellum in timing motor and cognitive tasks.

Converging evidence from different research studies supports a role for the cerebellum in timing neural processes. The cerebellum is part of a distributed system for motor control. The timing hypothesis provides a specific functional role for the unique contribution of the cerebellum. The timing capabilities of the cerebellum appear to extend beyond motor control into tasks focusing on perceptual processing that require the precise representation of temporal information and sensorimotor learning. Behavioral and modeling studies suggest that the cerebellar timing system is best characterized as providing a near-infinite set of interval-type timers rather than as a single clock with pacemaker or oscillatory properties, but this is controversial. In addition to learning precisely timed motor responses, the cerebellum is involved in on-line processing using feed-forward systems for which sensory input is used prior to movement execution to improve movement accuracy. This would be a mechanism for triggering accurate "time." The cerebellum continues to fascinate scientists, and although survival is possible without the cerebellum, the resultant quality of life is significantly compromised with clumsiness, ataxia, hypotonia, dysarthria, slowing of various cognitive perceptual processes, and impaired fine motor and ocular-motor coordination. The last three decades have seen the development of research that has focused on how the cerebellum functions. Further neurophysiologic research in cerebellar cortical neurotransmission is likely to further our understanding of the cerebellar contribution to timing sensorimotor processes.

Diagnostic efficiency of the Rorschach schizophrenia and depression indices in identifying first-episode schizophrenia and severe depression

We studied the diagnostic efficiency of the Rorschach schizophrenia (SCZI) and depression (DEPI) indices for detecting first-episode schizophrenia and severe depression with and without psychotic features using DSM-IV as a gold standard measure. Twenty-seven patients with first-episode schizophrenia, 13 with bipolar I disorder, 28 with psychotic depression, 29 with non-psychotic depression, and 60 healthy controls were recruited for the study. The SCZI was highly specific with a very low false positive rate. The lowest positive value of 4, however, may yield false positives, especially among manic patients. The DEPI identified severe non-psychotic depression but not psychotic depression, suggesting that these patient groups invoke different perceptual-cognitive processes in formulating and articulating their Rorschach responses. Anyway, both the SCZI and the DEPI based on the psychological organization and functioning that are known to play a clearly formulated role in schizophrenia and depression, respectively, provide a valuable addition for diagnostics characterized by overt symptoms.

A research model of project complexity and goal commitment effects on project outcome

Essentially, performance evaluation is a human behavioural phenomenon involving a cognitive perceptual process. Project performance has two attributes, at least: (1) the individual's expected performance (manifested as assigned goals); and (2) the individual's perceived actual performance. Evaluation comprises the comparison of these two attributes. The present paper develops a research model for project outcome evaluation designed to examine the effects of the two moderators, goal commitment and project complexity, on the perceived project performance of project participants. It is postulated that: (1) there is a positive monotonic relationship between goal difficulty and performance, but that this is moderated by project complexity; (2) difficult goals lead to higher performance, but that this will happen only when the project participant is committed to the goal; and (3) the transferability of critical success factors to enhance/improve the performance of subsequent projects has to be examined and applied in the light of the effects of these two moderators on project performance.

Developmental antecedents of taxonomic and thematic strategies at 3 years of age.

Individual differences in children's conceptual strategies at 3 years were predicted by several aspects of children's behavior and language at 13 and 24 months of age. Production of pointing gestures at 13 months and production of nouns and attributive adjectives at 24 months were positively associated with the use of a taxonomic matching strategy at 3 years of age. Alternatively, an early interest in functional-relational play behavior at 13 months and the production of relational terms at 24 months were positively associated with the tendency to use a thematic conceptual strategy at 3 years of age. Individual perceptual-cognitive processing styles are tentatively proposed as a persisting epigenetic mechanism underlying these individual differences across early sensorimotor, language, and conceptual development

A descriptive analysis of cognitive activities involved in locating fishing points: In the case of fishermen of Toyoshima Island, Hiroshima Prefecture

This study aimed at descriptive understanding of traditional methods involved in locating fishing points and navigating to them in the sea, and investigate associated cognitive activities. Participant observations and interviews were conducted for more than 30 fishermen who employed hand-line or long-line fishing methods near Toyoshima Island, Hiroshima Prefecture. The main findings were: (1) Fishermen readily perceived environmental cues when locating fishing points, which enabled them to navigate to a correct point on the sea. (2) Their memory of fishing points was not verbal, but visual, directly tied to the cue perception, and was constantly renewed during fishing activities. (3) They grasped configurations of various natural conditions (e.g., swiftness of the tide, surface structure of the sea bottom) through tactile information from the fishing line, and comprehended their surroundings with accumulated knowledge and inductive inferences. And (4) their cognitive processes of perception, memory, and understanding were functionally coordinated in the series of fishing work.